Winch cable guide



July 31, 1945. -w. L. STOVER 2,380,801

WINCH CABLE GUIDE Filed Nov. 24, 1943 Patented July 31 1945 UNITEDSTATES PATENT oFFw This invention'relates to winches and windlassmachines, and more particularly to a. device for controlling the slackin the cable or rope on the winding drum of such machines.

A common difficulty encountered in winches and windlasses is theuncoiling'and disarrangement of the cable on the winding drum occasionedby the sudden complete release of the load either intentionally or whenoccasioned ,by a

' breakage of a cable, and the present invention provides a very simpleand efllcient control device which, while it does not interfere with thenormal operation of the winch or windlass and in fact contributes tosuch operation by providinga guide for the cable. does eflectivelycontrol the cable upon its sudden release and prevents the unwinding ofthe cable on the drum.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplifieddevice forcontroliing a cable in a winch or windlass.

The invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement andcombinations of parts hereinafter more' particularly described andclaimed.

One sheet of drawings accompanies this speci ncation as part hereof, inwhichlike reference characters indicate like parts throughout.

Figure l is a fragmentary vertical cross-section take; through awindlass on the line l-l of Fisure Figure 2 is afragmentary plan view ofa windlass embodying the present invention by omitting the drive andother mechanism not material to this invention; 3 is atransverseeross-section taken on lineJ-l of Figure B'brokcn away inparts to illustrate the'construction. i

The invention is illustrated herein as applied to a diagrammaticrepresentation of a winch or windlass having two spaced frame membersl-l in which is iournaled the drum shaft 2 carrying the drum 3. shaft 2is not shown and any suitable winch or Windlass mechanism can beutilised.

I For the purpose of the present invention, the drum 8 is provided atone end with a sprocket wheel I carrying a chain It which also engages asprocket ll fixedly secured to a shaft ll rotat- "ably mounted atJournals ll-llearried by the I frame members l--l. 'Iheshai't llisposltloned so The driving mechanism for the,

parallel with and spaced from the drum shaft 2 andis provided with alongitudinally extending groove II. A pulley i2 is slidably andnonrotatably mounted on the shaft il, being keyed theretoasbykey IIslidingingrcoveii.

Above the Journals III, the frame members i are provided with verticallyextending through slots 8-! in which are slidably positioned Journalsl-i carrying a shaft 1 upon which is slidably' and rotatably mounted apulle 8 formed with peripheral flanges l-l spaced apart sufiiciently toembrace a peripheral portion of the pulley it, as illustrated in Figure3. so as-to frictionallyengage the cable I] extending from the drum '3.The shaft I is resiliently drawn toward the shaft II by meansof springsll-l! con.

necting the journals 8 and i0.

, It will thus be observed that the pulleys l2 and lwillbenfromthedrumlinthenormai operation of the windlass or winch so that thecable ll will be payed out and drawn in in the normal operation of thedevice, but will be held against back lash in event or the suddenrelease of the load on the end of a cable. It'will further be noted thatthe combined pulleys l and I: being i'reeiy slidable transversely of thedrum operate to guide the cable and thus contribute to the normaloperation of the device.

Various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the partswill readily suggest themselves to those skilled. in the art but withinthe scope of the present invention, as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A winch comprising a frame, a winch drum pivotally mounted in saidframe, a shaft rotatabiy mounted inthe frame parallel with the axis ofthe drum a pulley slidably and nonrotatably mounted on said shaft. meansfor driving said shaft from. the drum, shaft bearings slidably 40mounted in the frame. a second shaft rotatably mounted in said bearings,spring means drawins the slidable bearingstowardthe first shaft, a

P l y slidably mounted on the second shaft, said pulleys proportionedand arranged so that a peso ripheral portion of one will nest within theadiacent peripheral portion of the other so that said pulleys will slidetogether on their respective shafts and frictionally engage a portion ofthe winch cable. p WILLARD L.

